Tuesday, June 7, 2011

I'm proud to share my blog today with Angela James, Executive Editor of Carina Press (MY publisher!) and Amy Wilkins of Carina Press/Harlequin. My blog (along with 18 others) is celebrating the first anniversary of the place where "no great story goes untold." Please enjoy Amy's post and comment at the end before 9A eastern on Wednesday because this party has great prizes--including a Kobo eReader.

And now...here's Angela!

In celebration of our one year anniversary, I asked as many of our Harlequin team members and Carina Press freelance editors as possible to write a short blog post, talking about what the past year or so has been like for them, working on Carina Press. I deliberately didn't provide any direction other than that, because I wanted to see what people came up with, in the spirit of Carina's 1st anniversary. I was so pleased when I saw what they'd all come up with, and had to say (and some of these posts made me just a little teary)! I hope you enjoy the post, and look for your opportunity to win a Carina Press book at the bottom of this post. ~Angela James

Amy Wilkins is Assistant Manager of Digital Content and Social Media at Harlequin and a member of the Carina Press Acquisition Team. When not making sure our ebooks get made, Amy manages two Harlequin blogs and the @HarlequinBooks Twitter account, and builds her eReader collection (3 so far!) in her spare time. You can follow her on Twitter.

It’s been one year since Carina Press launched on June 7, 2010. Of course, for most of us here at Carina Press and Harlequin, it feels a lot longer. Months before that date, we were reading submissions, reviewing covers, formatting files, building websites and thousands of other tasks to build a new business.

I could say that since then things have calmed down. That would be a total lie. Personally, I’m as busy as ever… I like to call my job on Harlequin’s ebook program my “full-time job.” Everything else – managing some of Harlequin’s social media properties and working on the Carina Press acquisition team, for example – is extra.

But you know what? I wouldn’t change a thing.

Last week, my department faced a HUGE deadline for a project. Cue panic and string of crises. In the midst of this deadline, we had a Carina cover copy review meeting. Jenny Bullough (my boss :) ) said I could skip to work on the other project….

My response: “But…I like our cover copy meetings!”

It’s no secret I looooove writing cover copy; it’s my favorite part of my job. And I love the Carina meetings where we talk about our books and have so much fun that we’ve joked about live tweeting one. I know you’re curious about how many times we say “sexytimes” per meeting (hint: a LOT). How many people can say they have a job where meetings are fun?

So I wasn’t going to miss that meeting. I worked late the day before so just I could attend.
I think that’s one reason Carina Press is so special. Everyone on the team from freelance staff, the writers, to us here at Carina/Harlequin will give that extra time, take on brand-new tasks and yes, sometimes be gluttons for punishment, because we love what we do.

So Happy Birthday, Carina Press. Here’s to many more years!
(BTW, we did meet that deadline. :) )

To celebrate Carina's one year anniversary of publishing books, we're giving away some prizes. Today, on each of the nineteen blogs our team members are featured on, we're giving away a download of a Carina Press book to one random winner (that's nineteen total winners!) All you need to do to be entered to win is comment on this post. You can enter to win on all nineteen posts. In addition, on the Carina Press blog, we're giving away a grand prize of a Kobo ereader and 12 Carina Press books of the winner's choice. Visit the Carina Press blog to enter to win, and to see links to all 19 of today's blog posts.

And a sincere thank you from all of us, to our readers and authors, for making Carina Press's first year a success!

58 comments:

Amy, thank you for celebrating on my blog. I'm honored to have you! I'm also proud that my Carina book,STONE KISSED, won the Golden Quill for "best first book" this year. We have a lot to celebrate today.

Happy Anniversary! I remember when Carina started last year, and everyone was waiting around to see what it would be like--well, it's been a success! Every Carina book I've read, I've liked! Congratulations on a great launch.

@StacieDM - The meetings really are a hoot. I do hope we will be able to live tweet one (without naming names or books). We have a summer student in the office and on her first day she came to an acquisition meeting -- complete with discussion of an erotic male/male. Talk about trial by fire! no time to be embarrassed in our world!

@Carol - You're welcome - I know who wrote the copy for your books so I'll pass along the compliment :)

Amy, happy first anniversary to you and Carina Press! I'm sure glad you and your co-workers love what you do so much--we readers sure reap the benefits! Looking forward to many more great titles (with fabulous covers and copy) to come!

What a great anniversary party so far today! It's hot as the blazes here. Reading many of the Carina Press books won't help that - when we write "sexytimes," we Carina authors write 'em right. But did you know not all Carina books are romances? Carina also has great mysteries, sci-fi and other genres of fiction.

Congratulations on Carina's first year anniversary! Amy, it's so easy to see how much you love your job - thanks for sharing your insights. Keri - Congratulations on winning the Golden Quill for Stone Kissed - WTG!! Wishing all of you continued success!!

Sexytimes and Congratulations!! :) It means a lot to all of us as readers that you're a "glutton for punishment." Maybe one day I'll join in as one of the writers. Wonderful post and congratulations again!